by andrewstetson | Nov 2, 2020 | Review
Texas Tech University trumpet professor Andrew Stetson in a terrific program of four recently composed works. Each is scored for different forces. James Stephenson’s Concerto for Hope (2015) is a 3-movement, 21-minute work with orchestra. Written for...
by andrewstetson | Nov 2, 2020 | Review
On this intriguing release Andrew Stetson takes full advantage of the trumpet’s surprising emotional range. The trumpet walks on the classical side by day and the jazz side by night, but it is also a clarion military instrument, a celebratory one in marching bands,...
by andrewstetson | Nov 2, 2020 | Review
This brilliantly played recital of works for trumpet with various accompanying forces opens with the Concerto for Hope by noted American composer James Stephenson. Stephenson has carved out an impressive niche for himself as one of the top leading composers...
by andrewstetson | Nov 2, 2020 | Review
Here is another one of those releases that seems unpromising when it arrives in the mail (Who is Andrew Stetson? Who are these composers?) but that ends up delivering the goods, and then some. Andrew Stetson, you might have guessed from the headnote, is on the faculty...
by andrewstetson | Nov 2, 2020 | Review
After the interior ruminations of Chris Gekker’s Moon Marked disc (reviewed elsewhere in this issue), here is a disc that showcases the more familiar aspect of the trumpet: bright, ballsy, virtuoso, glistening. The Moderato indicator for the first movement of James...
by andrewstetson | Sep 10, 2020 | Review
In dark and troubled times, hopefulness can be difficult to come by – but sometimes, if not always, music can be a bridge to a better future. That is certainly the intention of Concerto for Hope by James Stephenson (born 1969). The work is designed to...
